December 18, 2025

Pitch The Tide – Ward Olgreen: Red Onion ai

57 minutes

In this episode of Pitch The Tide, Ward Olgreen, Chief Operating Officer at Red Onion ai, shares how decades of restaurant operations experience led him to reimagine how brands understand their data. From years spent running multi-unit restaurants to building analytics for enterprise operators, Ward explains why Red Onion was designed to peel back the layers of guest behavior, marketing impact, and operational performance. He breaks down how tying transaction data to real-world events helps operators measure what actually drives sales and retention. At its core, Red Onion gives restaurant teams clear, fact-based insight to make smarter decisions, grow revenue, and focus on what matters most.

Interview Takeaways:

Operator Led Intelligence – Red Onion was built by leaders who understand restaurant reality. Ward’s decades in multi-unit operations shaped a platform designed to answer real questions about guests, marketing, and performance, not surface-level reporting.

Data That Proves What Works – Restaurants generate massive amounts of data, but most of it goes unused. Red Onion connects transactions to marketing events, menu changes, and operational shifts, helping teams measure what actually drives sales, retention, and profitability.

Insights That Drive Action – Red Onion is not just analytics. By layering guest behavior, employee performance, and event impact, the platform gives operators clear direction on where to adjust, invest, and improve to grow revenue without guessing.

Episode Links:

Ward Olgreen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wardolgreen/

Red Onion ai: https://www.redonion.ai/

Red Onion ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/redonion-ai/

Cali BBQ Media: https://content.calibbq.media/

Join Our Next Show: https://betheshow.media/rising-tides/

Shawn Walchef on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnpwalchef/

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